The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for supporting and positioning pipe sections during the construction of drain fields and the like in which connected pipe sections are laid with surrounding aggregate on a grade surface below ground level.
The laying of flexible pipe in the construction of septic tank drain fields and other similar construction has been widely adopted in lieu of the previously used drain title sections. Heretofore, such construction has met with difficulty in the proper positioning of the flexible pipe during the construction process, since such pipe must be maintained in such proper position while being surrounded by aggregate.
Conventionally, drain field construction has been accomplished by utilization of grade stakes driven into the earth along the center of the ditch or trench in which the pipe was to be placed. A grade board was then fastened to the grade stakes with the top edge of the board spaced from the bottom of the ditch a distance equal to the amount of aggregate desired beneath the drain pipe. Aggregate then would be poured into the ditch to the level of the board top edge. The successive drain pipe sections then would be manually placed on top of the grade board, properly interconnected, and manually held in place while additional aggregate was poured around and over the drain pipe to the required level. While still widely practiced, this method of construction is time consuming and inexact, and requires a number of workmen during the construction.
Attempts have been made to solve the problems posed by such conventional drain field construction, but while providing some improvement, such attempts have not solved these problems and have presented additional problems. One such attempt is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,496. The apparatus of that patent does provide support for a pipe section during pouring of aggregate, and thereby obviates the use of grade stakes and grade boards, but since it employs spring clips attached beneath an elongate support member and into which spring clips a pipe section could be pushed during construction, additional problems are presented. Such spring clips rely solely upon resilient force to hold each pipe section during pouring of the aggregate thereabout which makes the pipe section subject to becoming dislodged from the apparatus during pouring of the aggregate. Even if the pipe section does not become dislodged, once the pipe section is embedded in the aggregate, the pipe section then must be removed from the spring clips and this removal frequently may displace the pipe section within the aggregate.
Additionally, the prior art apparatus of the aforementioned patent does not firmly anchor a pipe section during pouring of the aggregate, since one end of the elongate support member of such apparatus passively rests on an exposed end portion of a previously positioned pipe section while the other end of the elongate member is passively supported by an upright member, perpendicular to the elongate member, which rests on the bottom of the drainage ditch. Unless such prior art apparatus is manually held in position during the pouring of the aggregate, the entire apparatus and pipe section might be easily displaced by the aggregate, which would require interruption of the pipe laying process or could result in an improperly constructed drain field.